ING has announced that Ljiljana Čortan will become Head of Wholesale Banking effective 24 February 2026, taking over from Andrew Bester, who will step down from the bank's Management Board Banking on the same date. The appointment has received approval from the European Central Bank.
Čortan has been a member of ING's senior leadership team since 2021, serving as the bank's Chief Risk Officer.
FROM CHIEF RISK OFFICER TO WHOLESALE BANKING HEAD
ING's wholesale banking arm serves multinationals, financial institutions and mid-market corporate clients across more than forty countries. The division provides lending, transaction services, capital markets access and advisory support.
Andrew Bester, who joined ING five years earlier, said he was stepping down to return to his UK home base and start the non-executive phase of his career. Bester's resignation takes effect on the same date that Čortan formally assumes leadership.
ECB APPROVAL
Euro-area supervisors require fit-and-proper assessments for senior roles at significant institutions. Under the Single Supervisory Mechanism, the ECB evaluates the knowledge, skills, experience and personal integrity of prospective board members and key function holders at the banks it directly supervises, a process that can take several months.
ING, headquartered in Amsterdam, is under direct ECB supervision. Changes to its Management Board therefore require explicit regulatory sign-off before they can take effect, and the bank confirmed that all necessary approvals were secured ahead of the 24 February transition date. ING had first announced in October 2025 that Čortan would succeed Bester no later than its April 2026 AGM.
While ING searches for a new chief risk officer, Andrea Cesaroni will serve as interim head of risk, reporting to the chief financial officer.
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